- Air break
- Traffic Light
- Tape Measure
- Pipe Wrench
Air break
George Westinghouse Sr. was the father of the famous George Westinghouse Jr. Westinghouse Sr. owned some machine shops, in which George learned. Westinghouse Jr. grew up as a good businessman. One day, he experienced a train wreck because the brakemen couldn’t turn on the individual brakes in time to stop the train. This made Westinghouse get determined to fix this problem. He came up with the air break, which turns on all the brakes via pressurized air. He built a small train, took some potential costumers on board, and set off for an 80 mile trip. When coming out of a tunnel, there was an overturned wagon on the track, and all chances of it getting it off gone! The air brake stopped the train just in time, saving lives. The wagon on the tracks was key to success with the air brake. One way to prepare for this kind of luck is to have witnesses on hand when it could happen.
Traffic Light
JP Knight had experience with directing train traffic, and that led him to invent a better way to direct horse-drawn and on-foot traffic. It was the traffic light, lit by gas lamps at night, and with signs for day. Unfortunately, his first light in London exploded only a month after it was installed. Still, they spread to the US as quickly as ever. Traffic lights reduce traffic accidents today.
Tape Measure
All sorts of measuring tools existed, ever since the cubit with which Noah built his ark (Gen 16:15). Alvin J. Fellows invented the tape measure in 1868. It is a pretty simple device. It unfolds and folds quickly, and is compact enough to fit on a belt. They were upgraded and advertised in newspapers and magazines. They are important tools in general now.
Pipe Wrench
The need for pipes increased rapidly as the oil industry grew, but the wrenches of that time could not grip the pipes. The monkey wrench was the best, but it had flat edges, and did not grip the pipe well. Daniel Stillson invented the pipe wrench in 1869 to solve this problem. It has teeth to grip pipe, rather than flat edges. They were advertised for their grip and durability. Modern plumbing is possible due to the pipe wrench. They were used in the Alaskan pipeline which transformed the state.